What It's Like to Be a Female Cruise Ship Captain

Bye-bye to the boys' club at sea: As of late, the cruise world is opening up its most coveted position—the captain's seat—to more and more women. In particular? Regent Seven Seas, Windstar, and Celebrity are the latest major cruise lines to join ranks by putting female captains at the helm of mega-ships.

Kate McCue charted new territory over at Celebrity Cruises in September, when she earned the title of the industry's very first American female captain; she now navigates the 2,158-passenger Celebrity Summit between Bayonne, NJ, and Bermuda and the Caribbean. The 38-year-old San Francisco native has a degree from the California Maritime Academy and 16 years of maritime experience under her belt, and says she's been dreaming of this role for even longer still.

"I wanted to go to sea since I was 12," the captain told Condé Nast Traveler, recalling her very first sailing to the Bahamas on a family vacation that same year; since then, it's been full steam ahead. "It was a fluid—pun intended—transition up through the ranks, as I always knew that this was something in my 'wheelhouse.'"

McCue felt that her gender didn't work against her, instead citing smooth sailing while she worked her way up, though she concedes that expectations might be different for her versus a male counterpart in the same role. "I don't like the stereotypes, but I love smashing them," she said. "People expect me to be a Goliath of a person. I love to show that you don't have to squeeze into a mold to meet people's expectations."

Belinda Bennett, a 39 year old from the United Kingdom, was promoted as Windstar's first female captain in March. For women interested in following her career path, Bennett admitted there can be tough times at sea for women. "We still have to go the extra mile in what is still a male-dominated world," said Bennett. "But that is being changed daily as more women come through the ranks. As a woman paving the way for many others, getting your hands dirty and working with the men will earn respect. I am a firm believer that any job I give to the sailors is not something I have not already done myself at some point."

Serena Melani, 42, who commands the 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner, added that it's not just about earning respect and working hard—it's committing to a different sort of lifestyle. "There are a lot of demanding jobs," said Melani, a native of Italy. "But when you choose this job, in fact, you do not choose a career at sea, you choose a life at sea."

The trio joins just a handful of other women to ascend through the tradition-steeped male ranks to captain major ships. These include Cunard's Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge, from the Faroe Islands, who has commanded the Queen Victoria since 2010; new cruise line Fathom's Captain Sarah Breton, from the UK, who began piloting the 704-passenger MV Adonia in May and was previously hired as UK-based P&O Cruises' first female captain in 2010; and Captain Margrith Ettlin, of Switzerland, who joined Silversea Cruises in 2013 to helm its 132-guest expedition ship Silver Explorer. Royal Caribbean's Captain Karin Stahre-Janson, of Sweden, is widely credited as being the very first female cruise ship captain at sea, when she took command of one of Royal Caribbean’s mega-ships back in 2007 (note: she's currently on sabbatical). Since then, the line added on a second female captain in 2011, Lis Lauritzen of Denmark, who currently commands the 2,501-passenger Jewel of the Seas.

And while McCue and her contemporaries may be among the first women to sit in the captain's seat, they certainly won't be the last. "No doubt about it," she said, citing that women comprise about 20 percent of all of the bridge teams at Celebrity Cruises alone. "They are in the ranks, but more importantly, they are talented and dedicated," she said. "We'll get there!"